How Long Of a Kayak Paddle Do I Need? – How to Pick the Right Size!

The most exciting water boat is a kayak. You can feel like a captain of a ship while riding your kayak. Jokes apart, it is known as the most adventurous ride in the water. But there are different types of kayaks. You may choose the tourist kayak or adventitious kayak. It totally depends on you. But the ride in water mostly depends on the paddle of the kayak. Because it leads the kayak boat in the water. So choose the paddle intellectually.

The paddle impacts a lot in the performance of kayak. A short tour with a kayak in the water needs thousand of strokes. So the paddle impacts significantly on kayaking. Choosing a paddle requires a lot of information. But yes, you can have some basic and shortcut way to select the paddle. These are-

Length-

Length of the paddle is the primary element you need to look at a paddle. The height of your boat determines the length of the paddle. Not only the height, but the width also impacts here. So deter the width and height of the boat, so that it could be easy for you to choose the paddle

Materials of the paddle-

Always try to choose the lightweight materials for your paddle, because you will have to grab the paddle for a long period of time. It's not about muscle power; sometimes your muscles could sore down due to heavier paddle. So try to choose the light one.

The blade of your choice-

Blades are the primary element of a paddle. It will dive into the waves of water. So you need to see the size as well as the shape of the blade of your paddle. It should be remembered that you need to choose the proper shaped one for your paddle.

Shaft-

A paddles effectiveness is seen in its shaft. So choose a paddle whose shaft is bent. A bent one will give you proper grip on the water. And a feathered one also. So go to the shop, and look for the appropriate paddle.

Length of the paddle

The length of the paddle is the most critical section in kayaking. The length depends on the height and width of the boat. But basically, the width plays the leading role here. The width of the boat selects the length of the paddle. Your height also needs to be measured, because a taller person needs a longer paddle. The size of the paddle comes in cm while the width of the boat comes in inches. So you need to check those systems of height. And the foremost thing is that you can check the websites or chart of the paddles from various brands. You may find variations there. But some basic system for choosing paddle is given below-

If the height of the paddler is 5 feet tall, then the boat will be 210 cm, and the paddle will also be like that size. If it is 5 -5.6 inches then you need to select the 220 cm long one. If the paddler is up to 6" tall, then you have to go with 230-240 cm. And if it is more than 6", then you need to buy a 240 cm long one.

The angle of the paddle

A paddle has a stroke of high and low angles. The low angle stroke will help you in relaxing your hand. Because only this stroke is done with the shaft. Here your hand, that means the upper one lays down the shoulder. And this stroke is ideal for low or flat laying water. It's known as the relaxing position in kayaking.

The high angle is for faster strokes. It is close to boat blade. This needs a shorter paddle and broader blade for having such stroke. Usually, paddles are designed for the low and high angle strokes, because people have different tastes. The size of the paddles also differs from angels. So it's better if you take genius advice.

Materials

Okay, now comes the section of materials. Because, you will hold higher the blade, not the shaft. So the material should be like this, that you could easily handle it. Your performance in kayaking also depends on the material of the paddle. The energy of the stroke depends on the material of the blade. Plastic works better in case of the edge. You may see different types of variations here. As like polymer, because polymer works best in water. The combination of fiberglass and nylon is infused and came up with the material here.

Low price one

Plastic is the best solution for the low price one in the blade. Recreational paddlers choose the nylon one. They are low in price as well as risk-free. It may easily be broken down, or bend down in the sun. But the flexibility it will give in water, no other paddle could give.

Blade design

Blades play an important role in water. You need to figure out which designed blade is perfect for you. Nowadays most of the blades are of irregular design. They come in narrower size. It is also shorter on one side. When you put the blade on water, it will be more uniform while pushing your kayak boat in the water.

A two storied blade gives you total comfort in the water. It allows the water to flow smoothly around the blade. Not only that, but it also allows the water to divide evenly into both sides of the blade.

Narrow blades are the most comfortable﻿﻿﻿﻿ one. They give you the stretches long. You could quickly take long stretches through this blade. A thin blade is used for a day-long trip as well as longer trips also.

Design of the shaft

There may be a bent or straight shaft that will give you grip in water, and you could easily flow in water through your kayak. Small diameters shaft gives you grip in. Smaller hands.

So today we tried to give you information about the total section of the paddle. And how much longer it needed to be.